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Bloom impressed by Potter's and Ashworth's impact

Eleven games into the new season, and Albion chairman Tony Bloom has already been impressed by new head coach Graham Potter, along with the work being overseen by the club’s technical director Dan Ashworth, who joined in February.

By Paul Camillin • 04 November 2019

By Paul Hazlewood
Tony Bloom

In an interview with independent football podcast Albion Roar, Bloom spoke more in detail about his long-term vision to turn Albion into a top-ten club and the need to achieve this objective in a smart and sensible way.

This summer, the club announced the long-term ambitions to become a top-ten Premier League side, and the Albion chairman highlighted the importance of aiming high in order to take the club to the next level.

He said, “Ever since I took over, the ultimate goal was to get into the Premier League — but we were in League One at the time, so we had to take it step by step and get promoted to the Championship first. But once we were there, it was all about getting to the Premier League.

“We had all the infrastructure in place, with a category one academy and a new training ground. In April 2017, we made it.

“The primary goal every season that we’re in the Premier League is to stay in the division, but we have to aim for more in the long term. With that in mind, we had a long board meeting in June of this year, when we spoke about lots of strategic things, and our longer-term vision.

“Things can happen in football and any club like ours can get relegated, but we need to have ambitions and lofty goals. We need to aim for something which is tough, and when you look at the top six and the huge amounts of money they’re spending, it’s not easy, but we have to aim for the top ten.”

By Paul Hazlewood
Dan Ashworth

Bloom explained how much of the groundwork has already begun to propel Albion to the higher echelons of the division, and believes head coach Potter and technical director Ashworth are crucial to the club’s ambitions.

“The great thing is we have the infrastructure in place, an amazing stadium in the Amex, as well as a fantastic training ground. Then it’s all about the people, and the playing side of things.

“We’re so fortunate to have Dan Ashworth, one of the best technical directors around and someone who is a great fit for this football club.

“It’s about getting the football right, and he’s there to oversee all of those necessary departments and is another person that ensures I can relax and be safe in the knowledge that everything is running smoothly.

“He understands what’s required and he’s seen a lot over the course of his career so far at both West Bromwich Albion and with The FA. We searched long and hard for somebody for the role, and he was always at the top of our list.

“We had to wait until after the 2018 World Cup and I was always hopeful we could get him; I think it’s a massive coup for the football club.

“We’re always looking to improve the players that we’ve got, and we won’t always get it right because not all players work out, but year on year, that is the ambition.

By Paul Hazlewood
Graham Potter.

“We’ve increased our salaries a lot over the years with the jump to the Premier League, but just spending more and more money at players isn’t the way to go.

“We have to spend wisely; therefore, it’s all about smart recruitment and having a head coach like Graham, who can really improve players.

“In my opinion, we have started brilliantly this season and he’s got the tactical awareness, the man-management skills and the experience to improve those players and get us to that top-ten position.”

The Albion Roar is broadcast every Saturday on Radio Reverb 97.2FM, and on podcast at https://audioboom.com/channel/albion-roar.